Ocala Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists

12/24/2021

Our office will be closed today! We will be open on Monday December 27th @ 8am.

09/22/2021

08/23/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.

In our continuing series of nasal airway obstruction we have described different causes. Today we will take up the idea of a deviated nasal septum. The nasal septum is a piece of cartilage and bone that is no more than 3 to 4 mm thick that extends down the center of the nose from the tip of your nose to approximately as far back as your ears. It acts as a wall that separates the two sides of the nose. We think of our nose as a small device on the front of our face, but actually the nose extends all the way to the back of our throat. Unfortunately, the nose is much like the bumper on your car. It is the first thing to get hit on your face if you should fall or be struck by an object, which can lead to a fracture of the nose. If the nasal septum is bent badly enough, it can obstruct one or both sides of the nose. Just like any other fracture of any other bone in the body, the only way to repair this is by a surgical procedure. This can usually be done in an outpatient setting and sometimes even in an office setting depending upon the extent of the fracture, how long it has been present, and the overall health of the person who’s nose has nasal airway obstruction due to a deviated nasal septum

If you would like to discuss this further, please call us here at Ocala Ear, Nose, and Throat to assist you with all of your hearing health needs.

Have a great day!

Thomas B. Thomason, MD

352-732-5042

08/17/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.

Patients commonly ask me, “Why can’t I breathe through my nose?”

Essentially there are two major reasons; either it’s an anatomical problem or a physiological problem. So let’s define these words so you can understand what your doctor is saying. Anatomy is the fancy doctor word for shape. An anatomical nasal problem is when something is physically misshaped that is blocking the nasal airway. Three anatomical problems are deviated nasal septum, enlargement of the air filters within your nose called turbinates, or sometimes nasal polyps. Physiology is the fancy doctor word for how things in your body work. When the nasal airway obstruction is a physiological problem it is usually inflammation as the underlying cause. Inflammation within the nose will generally be allergy or nasal irritation from non-allergic sources. As you can see, there are several very different common causes but the same result: you can’t breathe through your nose. In the future we will take up these common nasal airway problems that lead to your inability to breath through your nose.

If you would like to discuss this further, please call us here at Ocala Ear, Nose, and Throat to assist you with all of your hearing health needs.

Have a great day!

Thomas B. Thomason, MD

352-732-5042

06/02/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.

Patients commonly ask me, “When should I get a hearing test?”

You can get a hearing test at any time during your life. When babies are born in a hospital setting, hearing testing is performed before they go home. Hearing testing is performed in schools, and many people who work in noisy environments or certain industries obtain hearing tests on a yearly basis. But how would you know if you’re not in those particular situations? Below is a standard evaluation that we ask of our patients to help us define if they have hearing loss. Feel free to share the list with your friends.

If you would like to discuss this further, please call us here at Ocala Ear, Nose, and Throat to assist you with all of your hearing health needs.

Have a great day!

Thomas B. Thomason, MD

352-732-5042

05/26/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.

Patients commonly ask me, “Why do my ears ring?”

Ringing ears, otherwise known as tinnitus, is a very common problem. Ringing is usually associated with hearing loss; however, there are cases where patients do not have hearing loss and still have ringing in the ears (we will get into that on a later discussion). For the routine ringing that occurs in our ears, the ringing is not actually occurring within the ear, but in the part of the brain that is designed to work with the ear. That part of your brain will start to feedback on itself when it cannot receive a signal from your ear, usually due to some type of hearing loss. You will then perceive that there is ringing in your ear, when in fact it is really occurring within the part of the brain that processes sound. There are multiple different treatments, but the most common and most effective is amplification of the affected ear or ears by use of hearing aids. This allows the brain to relearn to listen to the ears, and to not listen to the feedback occurring within the brain itself. This (usually) does not happen immediately upon the use of amplification, but will occur over a period of months to a year, and is very effective in resolving tinnitus. Essentially, the hearing aids are getting your brain to pay attention to your ear which allows it to forget the feedback loop that you, unfortunately, trained your brain to listen to. You never meant to do that but with ongoing hearing loss that is what occurs. Hearing aids are an excellent choice of care for tinnitus if the other less common, but sometimes more sinister, problems have been ruled out by your ENT doctor. Next week we will discuss other types of tinnitus like that heartbeat in your ear.

If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to call us here at Ocala Ear, Nose, and Throat to assist you with all of your hearing health needs.

Have a great day!

Thomas B. Thomason, MD

352-732-5042

04/28/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.

Patients commonly ask me, “Why do I need to get hearing aids? I think I hear just fine.”

Many times we perceive that we hear well, but in fact we are missing quite a bit. Our family and friends notice, but it’s harder for us to actually perceive our loss. Hearing aids help us avoid the serious health problems that occur from long-term hearing loss, which include isolation, depression, increasing prevalence of Dementia, and even loss of balance which can lead to falls.

If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to call us here at Ocala Ear, Nose, and Throat to assist you with all of your hearing health needs.

Have a great day!

Thomas B. Thomason, MD

352-732-5042

04/26/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.

Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery is another area of expertise of our otolaryngologists. This includes treatment of deviated nasal septum, as well as facelifts, Botox treatments, and fillers. So, have you wanted to improve the look of your face, or are you tired of your chronic nasal airway obstruction? Come see one of our board certified physicians for an evaluation and treatment.

Have a great day, and I will talk to you next week.

04/19/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.

Otolaryngologists also take care of the head and neck. This relates to our expertise in care of head and neck cancers, involving the mouth, throat, or voice box. We also take care of tumors of the salivary glands and thyroid.

Have a great day!

Thomas B. Thomason, MD

04/07/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.

You may have questioned what it is that Ear, Nose, and Throat doctors do. I will post descriptions on a recurring basis on many of the different aspects that are within the scope of an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. Let’s start with…

Otology- this is the evaluation and treatment of the ear. ENT doctors are qualified to take care of both the health and the hearing of your ear, and do so on a common daily basis. Ocala Ear, Nose, and Throat can deal with your hearing loss or other ear problems with our team of providers which includes our Ear, Nose, and Throat doctors, audiologists, and our staff. The ENT doctors will deal with the health of your ears. If you have hearing loss that would be appropriately treated with hearing aids, we dispense hearing aids here in the office as well. This allows you to maintain continuity of care of all aspects of your ears.

Have a great day!

Thomas B. Thomason, MD.

03/30/2021

Good day from Dr. Thomason.
Sometimes I get the question from my patients: “What is an otolaryngologist?”An otolaryngologist is a physician trained in the medical and surgical management of ear, nose, and throat disorders. Commonly referred to as ENTs, we identify and treat diseases of the ears, nose, sinuses, mouth, throat, voice box, and structures of the face and neck. Otolaryngologists complete up to 15 years of college and post graduate training including medical school. There are seven areas of expertise in the field ofotolaryngology. In order to help our patients better understand what we can offer at Ocala ENT, I will be answering questions concerning what we do as otolaryngologists over the next several weeks. Have a great day!
Thomas B. Thomason, MD